: : : : : : Is it possible to remove the neck from the neckblock without taking the top off my old Kay bass. I have 47 Kay that is in great condition except that the neck was broke from the back of skroll to the middle of the neck then reglued. I am going to replace it with a Engelhardt neck. I don't want to have to take the top or back off if I don't need to. Thanks

: : : : : You don't have to take off the top to replace a neck on a Kay or an Engelhardt. The necks are put in after the tops are on the body.: : : : : Cal

: : : : :Could you explain how the necks are set because every Kay or Engelhardt I have seen, both old and new have hidden dovetail joints which means you have to remove the top or back.Thanks.

: : : The dovetail stops about 13/16" from the front of the neck(the part that sticks out of the body) and is chiseled at a 90 degree angle so it will fit flush with the top and hide the dovetail.If you see a new neck or one that was taken out, it is clear how it works.To take a neck out you are not going to save, cut the neck with a saw between the body and the fingerboard.Then chisel out the rest of the neck in small increments so you don't damage the neck block or the part of the back that is glued to the neck. The new neck will be longer than the body so you can cut it to the right length for your bass.Hope this helps.: : : Cal

: : :You can cut the new neck to fit your bass, but how do you slip the dovetail in w. the top and back still on?You can't come in from the top of the neckblock so I don't follow how you are going to set the new neck.Please follow up,Thankyou.

: There is a dovetail cut in the top,but you can't see it because the neck covers it up when the neck is in all the way.You can't see the actual dovtail until the neck is taken out of the body.The part sticking out of the body between the bass body and the fingerboard in the front is bigger than the dovetail and covers up the opening.So the neck does slide in from the front. : Cal

:Thanks for the info Cal, I guess I'll have to look closer at my 49 Kay.Do you work for Engelhardt?Why have'nt they changed the low neck angle after all these years? Still 3 1/2 to 3 3/4".Just curious! : Mark